A 2015 charge of simple assault of a vulnerable person against Larry “Kite” Johnson, a former Leflore County supervisor and one-time teacher at Quitman County Middle School in Marks, was dismissed Wednesday following a three-day trial in Quitman County Circuit Court.
Circuit Court Judge Linda Coleman issued the bench decision, according to Johnson’s attorney, Fred Clark of Greenwood.
“It has been a nightmare for Mr. Johnson and his family. Basically, he hasn’t been able to work for any school district since then,” Clark said this morning.
Johnson initially was charged with aggravated assault in June 2015 for allegedly striking a special-needs fifth-grader on two separate occasions at the middle school with a belt.
Aggravated assault carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.
Johnson was released on $5,000 bond.
In January 2016, the charges were downgraded to simple assault. Simple assault carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $1,000.
Johnson was fired from his job as a teacher after the boy’s parents made accusations against him.
Johnson declined to comment on the case this morning, referring questions to Clark.
Clark said the dismissal ends the case against his client.
He said the bench decision by Coleman came after the prosecution rested its case Wednesday.
Afterward, Clark made a motion for a directed verdict, “basically saying the crime in the indictment had not occurred,” he said.
“The judge interpreted that Mr. Johnson acted within the law” and dismissed the case, he said.
Clark said that the judge’s ruling was verbal and that a formal written one might come later.
The Quitman County School District has a corporal punishment policy. Parents in the district have the option of placing their child or children on a “no paddling” list, which provides for other options including allowing parents to come to school to discipline their children personally, Clark said.
“We introduced documents that the mother had never put the child on the ‘no paddle’ list at the school,” Clark said.
Johnson was the school’s sole individual permitted to administer corporal punishment, he said.
Corporal punishment is sanctioned by the state Board of Education, and “everything was done in compliance with the school board’s policy,” he said.
The attorney disputed the prosecution’s contention that the student struck by Johnson — Komelliao Smith — was a vulnerable person.
“The child is very capable,” he said.
Clark said Smith typically gets A’s and B’s in school. Although Smith is a special-needs student, his condition relates to tumors growing on his face and has nothing to do with him being emotionally or intellectually challenged, the attorney said.
Still, the student was suspended in September 2014 for disciplinary problems.
Clark said Johnson presented 12 witnesses in his defense, including a fellow teacher who witnessed the corporal punishment incident.
The prosecution presented testimony from the student, his mother and two state inmates who were working at the school at the time of the incident.
Clark said the testimony of the inmates was suspect given their combined criminal histories and their descriptions of what happened.
The attorney said Johnson and his family have paid a high price just to clear his name.
“It’s a case that never should have been brought,” Clark said.
• Contact Bob Darden at 581-7239 or bdarden@gwcommonwealth.com.
